Surprise! A new chapter of this one!

Recess

Marlene liked school. It was interesting and new. Years ago something like a school would have been unimaginable to her. Not only because she was too young for it at the time, but also because the people in the slums didn't have any schools. That was only something for kids above the plate.

But even there it had been a relatively new concept, with a lot of people still opting to homeschool their kids instead. Denzel had lived on the plate, right above her head, and he said he had never gone to school and was tutored at home instead. For many parents it was easier that way, she supposed.

Cloud and Tifa never went to school either. All they knew, they were taught by their parents or learned themselves. When Tifa had started to watch over her, back when they still lived in the slums, she had begun to teach her a few small things, similar to how Tifa had been taught those things herself as a child. Thanks to that, Marlene was already pretty good at reading and math!

It was her dad that insisted on them going to the newly built school.

"Ya two are busy enough as is, and it'll do the kids good to be with other kids their age," he had told them. At first Cloud and Tifa had been unsure about it, not having school experience themselves, but when Denzel and her had told them that they wanted to try it, they were quick to give in.

Of course, there was also the fact that Denzel and her wanted to give them both some space. It was something they had agreed on, after they had seen their guardians kiss. They had always taken care of them. And while Cloud had been gone for a little while, he had always thought of them as well. So to them it was only fair that they gave them something back, even if it was just a few hours.

Besides, like her dad had said, it was really fun to be around kids her age. No offense to Cloud and Tifa, but sometimes they were just so grown up.

Marlene's eyes roamed the schoolyard, looking at the other kids. With everything that happened in the last few years and with it being the only school in the area, classes were pretty mixed. Which was why Denzel and her, despite being two years apart, were sharing the same classes. The kids from the local orphanage were also attending school with them.

She found Denzel, standing a few feet away, talking with Jody, the girl with the Moogle doll they had met when those bad men came to abduct them months ago. They had become fast friends after everything that happened.

Failing to suppress a giggle, Marlene covered her mouth with a hand. It was pretty obvious Denzel liked her, a fact that Marlene was using to tease him relentlessly. That Jody had been a rather frequent dinner guest, with permission from the orphanage of course, only gave her more ammo to fire at him.

But honestly, she was happy for him. It did make her feel a bit left out sometimes. Like right now, for instance. But they weren't doing it on purpose; they were just 'off in their own world' like her dad had once described Cloud and Tifa during their stay at the beach, where the two had sat at the shore and watched the sunset.

She'd just tease them later.

A sound from the center of the schoolyard caught her attention and she turned her head to see what was going on. What she saw there was sadly not an unfamiliar sight.

It was Scott, a boy from a different homeroom than her, bullying one of the kids again. Being one of the oldest kids around, he seemed to think he had some special rights around here, and the school didn't have enough staff yet to have someone supervise them effectively while out on the yard.

Marlene frowned. The other kids were either afraid of him, or just straight up didn't want to be involved. She, too, had turned a blind eye a few times in the past, something she wasn't proud of. But when she saw him lay in on one of the girls from the orphanage, she felt that enough was enough. She glanced over to Denzel, who was still talking with Jody and hadn't seemed to have noticed what was going on. Setting her jaw, Marlene walked over to them, just in time for Scott to push the girl down to the ground.

"Shouldn't a slant eye like you be back home!?" she heard him ask the girl, her short black hair looking a little dishevelled after being pushed to the ground.

"I don't have a home," the girl said weakly.

"You have one, and it's called Wutai. So why don't you go back to whe—"

"Stop it!" Marlene pushed the taller boy away.

She turned while holding out her hand to the other girl to help her back to her feet. "I'm Marlene, what's your name?"

"M-Maya," she replied, taking her hand. Marlene pushed Maya behind her, to stand in front of her the same way Tifa would do. It looked just a tiny bit silly since they were roughly the same size.

"What's your problem!?" Marlene asked Scott, who had recovered from the surprise of being pushed back by a girl. "Why do you have to be so mean all the time!?"

The boy, with dark brown hair and a good head taller than Marlene, glared at her. Taking a few steps towards her, he did his best to look imposing, and while that might have been enough to scare the other kids, Marlene had seen far scarier.

"I know what you are," he said after looking her up and down. "You're a rat eating slummer. Come to defend your little friend?"

So that was it. Scott was a former plate dweller who seemed to think he was better than the rest. Even after two years there were still some of these people left.

"...You shouldn't be calling people rat eaters just because they lived below the city. You're down here with the rest of us, too," she said to him, looking him straight in the eye.

"Why you—!" He grabbed her by her shirt and lifted her up a little, forcing her to stand on her tiptoes. He had just raised his hand to hit her, when another voice joined the conversation from one end of the schoolyard.

"Hey, get your hands off her!" Denzel shouted, having finally taken notice of the situation. He made his way over to them, Jody trailing not far behind him. Now the other kids around them seemed to take notice as well, and started to murmur amongst each other.

"This doesn't concern you!"

"I said get your hands of my sister, now!" Denzel said, glaring daggers at the other boy.

Scott let go of her and stalked over to Denzel as she plopped to the ground. "Your sister, huh?" He scoffed. "So you're just another rat eater."

Denzel stared back at the boy, anger flaring in his eyes, and he started to shake. Marlene looked at him worryingly, . She had never seen him this angry before. Neither did Jody, who was putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Denzel..."

Marlene knew that he was going to lash out if nothing was done. She was about to join Jody in trying to calm him down, when the loud roar of a motorcycle engine echoed from down the street towards the school. The kids that had gathered around them turned to see what the sound was about and Marlene spotted none other than Cloud speeding down the street towards them, only slowing down once he closed in on the front gate of the schoolyard.

"Cloud!" she called out, taking Maya's hand and heading over to the gate, where Cloud was coming to a stop. She noticed Denzel being pulled after her by Jody, who murmured something to him to which he only nodded.

"Hey," Cloud greeted them casually, taking off his shades and moving over to open Fenrir's trunk. He pulled out two boxes that he handed Denzel and her over the small gate. "Tifa says she's sorry that she forgot to pack them for you earlier."

"Thanks, Cloud," Marlene said, a little smile on her face. She was trying not to let him know what nearly transpired, but from the way he was frowning she didn't succeed.

"Everything alright?" he asked in a low voice. "Did something happen?"

"Just someone being stupid," she replied, deciding to be honest.

Cloud looked over to Denzel, who in turn was glaring at Scott in the distance. Around them the kids were murmuring again.

"Isn't that one of the people that fought the dragon?" a girl asked.

"What a cool bike!" a boy said.

"I see..." Cloud murmured, his gaze following to where Denzel was looking until it came to rest on Scott. The boy became a little smaller all of a sudden. Cloud's mako eyes narrowed for a moment and she could have sworn she heard Scott squeak a little.

"Denzel," he said and the boy looked at him. They seemed to communicate without the need for words, just looking at one another. After a moment they shared a nod and Denzel visibly relaxed. Cloud turned to look at her again, his lips curling into a little smile.

"Who's your friend?" he asked her.

"M-M-Maya, sir," said the girl.

"Sir?" he shook his head. "Way to make me feel old. Just call me Cloud."

"...OK."

"Hey, Cloud? Would it be alright if Maya comes over to play after school?" Marlene asked him with a giggle.

"Sure. If that's what she wants, that is."

She turned to look at Maya, giving her an encouraging smile. With just a little bit of hesitation the Wutaian girl smiled and nodded.

Cloud pulled his phone out of his pocket to check something. "Alright, I gotta go. I should be back relatively early. I'll let Tifa know to expect a new visitor. I'm guessing you'll be coming over too, Jody?"

Jody grinned. "Sure thing."

Cloud gave each of them one last look, got on Fenrir and put on his shades. He did a quick U-turn, then rode off into the distance.

"Did you see his eyes?" she heard a boy ask.

"Yeah. Those were mako eyes. Only SOLDIERs have them."

"That guy was in SOLDIER!?"

Marlene turned to look over at Scott, standing alone in the distance. The boy returned her look for a moment, before averting his eyes and scurrying off like a scared animal.

"Was that your dad?" Maya asked her and Marlene had to laugh.

"One of my two dads," she replied. She might not call him that, but in his own way he was. Just like Tifa was her mother.

Dad, Cloud, Tifa, Denzel and her. They were family, and nothing would ever change that.

Maya blinked and tilted her head to the side.

"I'll tell you about it later," Marlene said to her new friend and held up her box. "Wanna share?"

Aww, Marlene made a new friend!
Look forward to some more chapters these coming days. I have some prepared. :)

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